MUMBAI: George Entwistle will take over as BBC director general following the exit of Mark Thompson.

Thompson had announced in March that he was leaving the UK pubcaster.

The BBC Trust said it had appointed Entwistle as DG, elevating him from the position of BBC Vision director.

Thompson will continue to lead BBC over the next couple of months.

Entwistle, who was the favourite to take over, said: "I?m delighted the chairman and Trustees think I?m the right person for the job. Mark Thompson will be a tough act to follow. But it?s a privilege to be asked to lead the greatest broadcasting organisation in the world and a privilege to be able to continue to serve our audiences in this new role."

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has decided to carry out a major restructuring exercise that will come into effect from 1 October.

BBC Worldwide?s existing structure based around five global divisions, will now be reconfigured to geographic lines of management. Profit and loss ownership and primary commercial ccountability will move closer to its customers, across seven geographic regions: North America; UK;

Australia/New Zealand; Western Europe; Asia; Latin America; CEEMEA (Central and Eastern Europe; Middle East and Africa).

The aim: to further increase focus on international markets, enabling it to capture future growth opportunities around the world. At the same time, BBC Worldwide is creating new global roles to establish direction and consistency around content, editorial, brands, sales and digital.

As a fallout of the restructuring, Worldwide Networks and the Global BBC iPlayer president Jana Bennett has decided to leave BBC Worldwide later in the year.

Bennett said,?My time at BBC Worldwide has been exciting and stimulating. I am delighted to have grown the BBC?s international channel portfolio at a time when global markets are so highly
competitive and to have brought quality British programmes and events to new audiences around the world both through our worldwide networks and the Global BBC iPlayer pilot.

?This announcement about the new organisation of BBC Worldwide, with regions in future holding P&L responsibility, is an important step in securing the future growth of BBC Worldwide enabling it to compete more effectively in the global market and deliver increasing returns to the BBC. I was pleased to have played a significant role in the organisational design process and fully support the changes under John Smith?s leadership. However with the move of P&L responsibility under the new structure I feel this is a good moment for me to work outside BBC Worldwide.?

The increased focus on geographic markets will be balanced by global functions with a remit across all BBC Worldwide geographies and a close connection into BBC Worldwide?s parent, the BBC. These will be managed by three newly created areas of accountability across sales, brands and content globally:

• Chief Sales Officer will be responsible for global B2B customer relationships and fulfilment, including advertising sales, as well as ensuring best practice across the company in sales and deals, and management of global sales events such as BBC Worldwide Showcase.
• Chief Brands Officer will be responsible for the commercialisation of BBC Worldwide?s flagship channel and programme brands, and will have oversight of the company?s global marketing activity, as well as business development of new brands.
• BBC Worldwide is also creating a third area of accountability for Content. This area will drive the creative and commercial vision for BBC Worldwide?s content strategy and will cover BBC Worldwide?s content and IP acquisition activity, channels curation and editorial standards. Scoping the dimensions of this accountability will form part of the next stage of work on the organisational design.
   

In addition, a Consumer Digital group will hold responsibility for BBC Worldwide?s consumer digital businesses, including all features on BBC.com, other commercial websites, the Global BBC iPlayer, as well as the company?s global digital strategy for apps, games and VOD, under a Chief Digital Officer. All four positions outlined above will report to BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith.

The seven regions will report into four Presidents, all of whom will report to John Smith and sit on the BBC Worldwide Executive Committee.

Asia, Latin America and CEEMEA will form one grouping, under a High Growth Markets Group, enabling a single overview of investment opportunities across many of the world?s most rapidly growing markets, where BBC Worldwide intends to establish a major presence. UK and Australia/New Zealand, both English language markets, will also report into a single President, representing continuity for Australia/New Zealand.

Western Europe, where TV Sales and Distribution today forms the largest single part of BBC Worldwide?s business, will report to the Chief Sales Officer. US and Canada will continue to report into the President, BBC Worldwide North America.

The new structure has been agreed following several months of work, involving all of BBC Worldwide?s Executive Committee, many of BBC Worldwide?s Leadership Group and has been approved by the BBC Worldwide Board.

BBC Worldwide builds on the success it has achieved in recent years in the USA and Australasia, where increased market focus and autonomy have resulted in strong results, with headline sales growth of 21 and 29 per cent respectively since 2009/10.

BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith said, ?The new organisation is designed to help us capture untapped opportunities for high quality British content and BBC branded services across the world, in order to sustain our track record of strong growth into the future. It has been worked out over a number of months, with inputs from across the world, and throughout our company. I believe it will accelerate delivery of our global ambition, and help us drive future growth and returns to the BBC, supplementing the licence fee.?

Since becoming President of Worldwide Networks, Bennett has overseen the channels business, which is the biggest revenue generator for BBC Worldwide and will report further strong growth for the year just ended. She has overseen the introduction of 13 channel services, from New Zealand to Thailand, as well as the launch of channels into new markets for the first time, including Brazil and Taiwan. She has pioneered global programming events across BBC Worldwide?s own channels, with broadcasts such as the Royal Wedding, Sport Relief, as well as the London Calling season (timed to coincide with Queen Elizabeth?s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics), playing out across four continents simultaneously.

Bennett has been responsible for BBC Worldwide?s 33 owned and operated thematic channels across 100 countries in EMEA, Australasia, Asia and Latin America. Jana is also responsible for the Global BBC iPlayer which launched as a pilot in July 2011 and is now in 16 countries. She also has financial responsibility for BBC Worldwide?s 50 per cent interest in UKTV, the owner of 10 branded channels in the UK; and executive responsibility for BBC Worldwide?s business development strategy across all its business in Latin America.

Bennett will remain with BBC Worldwide for a few months in order to effect a full handover of her responsibilities and to complete a number of major commercial deals that BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith has asked her to oversee.

MUMBAi: BBC?s children?s channel CBeebies has unveiled three new series.

?Get Well Soon? is factual entertainment show made by Kindle Entertainment, while ?Mr Bloom?s Nursery: Get Set, Grow!? and ?I Can Cook - On The Go? are adaptations of the CBeebies series? ?Mr Bloom?s Nursery? and ?I Can Cook?.

All three new commissions will film in a number of locations around the country.

?Get Well Soon? aims to enlighten CBeebies? young audience about health and medical issues in an exciting and informative way. Presented by real-life paediatrician Dr Ranjit Singh, the series will help children to understand their bodies and to see the medical world as an environment in which they feel safe.

Being ill can often be unpleasant but visiting the doctor can be a positive experience; understanding your symptoms is the first step to getting better.

The series tackles this through music, laughter, games and five childlike puppet characters.

In each episode Dr Ranj will open up his surgery to a different child puppet, each displaying different symptoms. As an experienced paediatrician, Dr Ranj is well-equipped to reassure his young patients and ensure that a visit to the doctor is seen as an interesting, non-threatening experience.

The series will explore and explain 30 of the most common childhood illnesses, injuries and general ailments from asthma to chickenpox; food allergies to hiccups. As well as visiting the Doctor?s surgery, Get Well Soon also travels around the country where groups of pre-school children help real-life nurse Morag Calder answer the puppets? questions and explain how our bodies work.

?Get Well Soon? is in production for transmission on CBeebies later this year. The series will be recorded in studio and also on location at a number of nurseries and schools.

?Mr Bloom?s Nursery: Get Set, Grow!? sees Mr Bloom pack up his Compo Car and head out across the country to set up a travelling village fete for thousands of Tiddlers. Mr Bloom is, of course, joined by his loveable team of Veggies who are thrilled to discover about life outside the Nursery from an amazing maize maze to meeting enormous vegetables; from scarecrow competitions to rooftop gardens.

In conjunction with the new series, BBC Learning is staging a series of family events throughout the UK this summer. Hosted by Mr Bloom (aka Ben Faulks), the events will show the audience how to have fun in the garden and, of course, there will be the usual mix of humour, music and lots of audience interaction!

The series will air early next year.

Katy Ashworth enjoys cooking up some scrumptious snacks in ?I Can Cook - On The Go?.

This series focuses on creating healthy sweet and savoury recipes and looks at why nutritious food gives energy to perform well in life. Katy travels around the UK in Horace, her kitchen campervan, helping children create and prepare healthy food. Katy then joins the children as they take part in fun activities together including going to the skate park, surfing and treasure hunts. When it?s time for a break, the snacks they prepared earlier are the perfect energy source to enable them to play more.

With songs to sing, actions to join in with and mouth-watering recipes to try at home I Can Cook - On the Go will make healthy eating, and outdoor activities, fun and accessible for families to enjoy together, ?I Can Cook - On The Go? is currently in production for transmission on CBeebies later this year.

CBeebies controller Kay Benbow Benbow said, ?These three new commissions are typical of the range and depth of programming on CBeebies at the moment. Get Well Soon is an exciting new commission which I think will make the medical world more open and accessible to our young audience. I think we have discovered a real talent in Dr Ranjit Singh who is not only an experienced paediatrician but an exciting new face that I am delighted to bring to CBeebies. I am also thrilled to welcome back returning favourites Mr Bloom and I Can Cook in new formats as they both hit the road to meet audiences around the country.?

MUMBAI: BBC is making its first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences.

The new programme, BBC Focus On Africa, brings together the expertise of the BBC World Service?s African Service and BBC World News on television.

It is the first in a range of new programming for Africa to be launched by the BBC this summer, including a major expansion of its TV offer.

BBC Focus on Africa will be aired by the BBC?s broadcast partners in Africa and will be shown globally on BBC World News. It forms just one part of an expansion of the BBC?s offer on TV, radio and online.

BBC has named Komla Dumor and Sophie Ikenye as the main presenters of the daily 30-minute news programme.

BBC Focus On Africa will be launched on prime-time TV across the continent from 18 June. The programme will draw on the pool of BBC African talent on the continent and in London to report on Africa?s rising economies, entrepreneurs, innovators, culture, entertainment and sport.

Focus on Africa will be covering the major news from the continent and asking: is there a way out of the Sudan crisis? What impact will Europe?s economic problems have on Africa?s booming economies? How does Africa deal with its growth in natural resources?

The programme will also challenge African leaders and politicians on tough issues.

Focus On Africa will report on the latest developments in business, technology and science and speak to those driving change. It will also look at how Africa is becoming an information technology hotspot. The programme will report, for example, on Kenyan scientists who are at the forefront in discovering cheaper, locally produced medicines to combat malaria.

Focus On Africa reporters across Africa will be giving us a snapshot of the innovation, lifestyle and culture of the country they live in. The programme will feature Africa Beats, looking at the people behind Africa?s varied music scenes. Every step of the way viewers will have their say through social media.

Focus on Africa presenter Komla Dumor said, "After decades of turmoil and uncertainty, a new Africa is emerging. The old stereotypes are being challenged and a new, compelling narrative is being written. I am incredibly excited to be part of a new BBC programme that will provide solid coverage and analysis of Africa?s challenges and prospects."

BBC?s Africa editor Solomon Mugera said, "Africa is now one of the fastest developing news markets in the world - this new investment will expand our services for African audiences.

"While radio remains popular in Africa, TV is growing - and our partnerships with leading African broadcasters play a key part in these future plans. Mobile phone ownership is racing towards a billion, internet connectivity is rising and social media is empowering audiences. It?s essential that the kind of independent journalism the BBC does that isn?t slanted to one political or commercial viewpoint remains central to the new media landscape."

With correspondents in 48 African countries, production centres in Nairobi, Abuja, Johannesburg and Dakar and a weekly audience of 77 million, the BBC already has deep roots in the continent.

"Our journalists are from the African countries they report on - in English, Swahili, Hausa, Somali, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi and French - living and breathing the big stories and issues facing Africa," said Mugera.

The BBC also announced that six special episodes from Africa of current affairs interview programme Rendezvous, hosted by Zeinab Badawi, will be broadcast on BBC World News from mid-June with guests including President Kikwete of Tanzania.

The BBC newsgathering resources in Africa are part of a global network of 70 bureaux. The BBC made its first broadcast to Africa more than 80 years ago. The combined audience on radio and television makes the BBC the largest international broadcaster in Africa.

Mumbai: Colors, the Hindi general entertainment channel from Viacom18 stable, will premiere the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa on 16 June.

In its fifth season, and first on Colors, the celebrity dancing reality show will air every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm. The first four editions of the show were aired on Sony Entertainment Television.

The show will see 12 budding choreographers and celebrity contestants from different walks of life on a common platform.

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa is an Indian version of the international format ?Dancing with the Stars?. It not only focuses on the celebrities? performances but also provides an understanding into the ?real? celebrity and his journey, the channel said.

Produced by BBC Worldwide Productions in India, the show will be judged by Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, costume designer and television host Karan Johar and dance choreographer Remo D?Souza.